Archive:A Day at the Market
It had been only a few days since she had been accepted as an initiate into the Blood Knight order, and Laurant was quickly starting to get her bearings. Things had changed drastically within the order, or so it had seemed, since they were now without M’uru and Lady Liadrin sworn the lot of them to the Naaru, A’dal, who resided in Shattrath. Laurant had not yet been given the honor yet of riding one of the order’s famed Battle Chargers, but she knew with a bit of hard work on her part, it wouldn’t be long off. As for today, she was taking a little time off to enjoy herself at the Brightmoon Faire Market, which had pulled in spectators and shoppers alike into the surface courtyard of the Undercity. Brightly dressed Sin’dorei, Tauren, and even a few Trolls were milling through the crowd, hawking their wares while others were serving as barkers for merchants, shouting loudly, “COME AND GET YOUR FRESHLY BAKED CUPCAKES!” or, “BUY A NICE NEW FINE SHIRT, RIGHT HERE!”. One particularly talented elf barked out his advertisements in rhyme, and Laurant thought she overheard someone mention that the man was a bard of some sort. That gave her pause, as sadly, those of artistic bent had been pushed into far more practical pursuits lately, given the wars that were being fought on multiple fronts. Laurant shook her head, trying to shake free those serious thoughts, scolding herself to put herself back into the mood which the market fostered - one of the every day exhilaration that came with the simple things like browsing the market and listening to the latest gossip. Glancing over in the direction of the clothing merchant and his barker, whom Laurant had heard someone call her Lindrys, she spotted a man leaning against one of the stone staircases. He was an interesting looking man, with reddish hair that was slightly darker than her own, and a fit physique that came from sword fighting, if the blade hanging in a scabbard on his back was any indication. But, one would have to say his most notable feature was his beak like nose, which was quite a contrast to the shape of most other Sin’dorei’s who all had delicate and gentle features, the men included. Laurant had to admit that it looked fitting on him, and certainly set him apart from the other men she had seen. Furrowing her brow, she attempted to pull herself back from errant thoughts once again. Even though this was a day to relax, it would not be prudent to pursue any distractions. She was to be a Blood Knight, that’s what she wanted, and that want was in contrary to her family’s desires. She would require every ounce of her concentration and will to be directed on that goal, and not on the matter of chasing after some man like an empty headed twit. As Laurant continued to scold herself, she noticed the barker Lindrys approach the beak nosed man, smiling brightly and trying to encourage him to buy a shirt from the clothing merchant. He smiled at the woman, doing his best to try to decline the opportunity to buy a shirt, but the one called Lindrys was persistent, and did not seem to be easily dissuaded from a potential sale. And yet through the entire discussion, his smile seemed to be genuine. Now that was very interesting. Perhaps it wouldn’t be bad if she just spoken to him, Laurant thought. After all, he seemed like a friendly fellow. Stepping forward, Laurant interjected herself into the conversation, which now seemed to be past whether or not he would buy a shirt, but that he should buy an orange shirt to match his fiery hair color. “I absolutely agree Miss. Orange would compliment his coloring,” she found herself saying, mentally wanting to thunk herself on the forehead for such an asinine sounding comment, as both the man and Lindrys turned to look at her. Oh well, she was in it now. Doing the only thing she could think to do, she pasted on a smile, the very same that Laurant typically reserved for those times when either her mother or father had found fault with her again, and were lecturing her on how she should grow up and try to become more like her siblings. She only hoped it didn’t appear to vacuous. As she continued to converse with the two, she found her constantly reminding herself to try to be witty, but not so witty that she was trying too hard and it sounded like this was the first time she had let herself out into public, which… wasn’t far from the truth, but no one else need know that. Laurant continued to engage the man in conversation, and she found that he was much more different than so many other Sin’dorei men than she had previously thought. He had been raised in one of the small outlying towns of Quel’thalas, and had until recently worked the docks at Sunsail Anchorage - something that would immediately cause her family to label him as barely Sin’dorei, that thought of manual labor - but was now also to become a Blood Knight like herself. He was unpretentious, and while ambitious, it wasn’t a predatory ambition like so many others, but rather one that was more aimed at simply bettering his lot in life, but without having to step on others to do so. While his qualities were very earthy, he had a sense of humor that happily suited her own, lacking the complex and snide jokes that those in her parent’s social circle favored, but filled instead with poking fun at oneself and just the little oddities of life. Flashing both a cheerful smile, Lindrys went to fetch his shirt from the merchant, and one that she had convinced Laurant to buy as well. Laurant had thought only to take in the atmosphere of the market and had not attended with idea that she would find something that she wanted. “Would you like to have a drink with me in Brill?” she found herself asking him, and to her pleasure, he agreed just as Lindrys returned with their purchases. But that is the thing about markets, Laurant’s inner voice whispered. They have an annoying way of reminding you things that you want, but can’t afford. Funny how we end up leaving with them anyways. Category:Archived Stories Category:Archived